Hi,

I have a pretty good leak and need a little help identifying the source.

The bottom of the transmission is soaked, but the fluid does not appear to be red or smell like transmission oil. The leak was minor, but after a couple hours of driving over thanksgiving vacation it is a little more significant and leaking puddles on my driveway. Also, much of the underside of the vehicle is now coated. Because it has spread I am having a hard time finding the source. The upper parts of the engine and transmission appear to be dry and clean.

I do have a hunch. But I am hoping I am wrong.

Any experience with leaks with my symptoms?

Thanks

 

I just fixed my oil leak on my 850 R Same condition i thought it might be a real main seal. Turned out it was the Turbo oil return line. Good friend of mine is a Volvo Tech, this was the first thing he told me to check. Here is the link for the repair. Part cost $9.00 buck from Volvo for gasket and o-ring.

Volvospeed Volvo Performance Parts Repairs And Turbo Modifications - 850 V70 S70 C70 Dripping Turbo Oil Return Line

 

I should have mentioned this it not a turbo wagon

 

Still haven't given us any car info???

 

95 850 wagon non turbo automatic

 

Cam Seal Replacement, rear, 1998 Volvo S70 GLT - Volvo 850 Cam Seal Replacement

Rear main seal, cam seals, oil cooler lines.

When was the last time the PCV system was replaced?

 

The cam seal areas is dry.

Does the non turbo have oil cooler lines?

I'm hoping its not the rear main seal.

I just purchased the car and have not touched the PVC. When do the PVC systems need rehab? Vehicle only has 80K.

 

I checked the PCV system by looking for smoke from the oil dipstick. I also placed a latex glove over it to see if any air was making its way out. Neither showed any signs of a bad PCV system.

I'll wash the motor underside next so I can start fresh looking for the leak.

 

N/A's do not have oil cooler lines other than the transmission cooler lines.

Best thing to do is pressure wash that thing till its squeaky clean then watch intently for a few days.

I am thinking its is the rear main but you should find out for sure before you head down that path. Honestly you can change that seal in a day. Its a lot of work but can be done.

 

I would check the oil cap seal!! Very much missed when looking for leaks. It will leak out and get under the spark plug wire cover and leak down the backside of the engine/ transmission side, it can get between the trans and engine and look like maybe a rear main seal. The cap seal should be replaced every other oil change, only a couple bucks at the dealer! If you look up at the back side of the engine you'll see it running down from valve cover.

But yes check or do PCV if not done yet!

 

The smoking dipstick is not a good 100% test. Mine was clogged and did not smoke out the dipstick. I'm thinking that you have a smoke window, once it gets worse, not more smoke, just more clogged. If you don't know it's history, treat it like a timing belt that you don't know the history of.

Did you check all 4 cam seals? It can be hard to find leaks especially on a soaked motor.

 

I am going to add this to the list. I would consider it very rare but a couple years ago my first Volvo engine leaked everywhere, out the pan, mid block...it was just wet and leaving big puddles. What had happened was worn rings (had very low compression) which led to blow by which lead to high crank case pressure and that lead to leaking oil everywhere.

 

Thanks for all the tips. I'm still leaning towards a RMS. All the cam seals are dry, the top of the engine is dry, the oil pan is mostly dry. It looks like a engine side axle shaft seal leak because of the way it is spread around the area, but the leaking fluid is brown and doesn't smell like auto trans fluid. The leak is getting progressively worse. I might take it too a shop to get a second opinion before I ruin a weekend changing the seal.

I'm starting to research pulling the transmission to do this job. This is an auto. I don't have a lift or a engine hoist so pulling just the transmission would be easiest if possible. But I can't find much about this online. Are there any good write-ups for just pulling the trans?

Thanks